The Pilgrimage E-Book

Ayodele Ajileye

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020

Beschreibung

Whenever we hear the word Pilgrimage in religious settings, the first thing that comes to mind is a trip to the 'holy' land by the name of Jerusalem for Christians or Mecca for Muslims or other such places for other religions. Let me say this upfront: "I'm not really interested in religious discussions, so you know that I'm not about to spend time discussing trips to ‘holy’ lands.

True, pilgrimage is a journey, and whenever we hear the word “Journey” from a preacher or when it is read in a book, we tend to convert it straight away to mean the religious pilgrimage. Many have even term it to be what Jesus was talking about when he said that the road is narrow in Matthew 7:13-14. And because we have misinterpreted the journey, too many of us (children of God) go through the ‘journey’ wrongly. This journey has led to the frustration of many and they are still bringing many more people into frustration. God can’t get it wrong, He said His people are destroyed, frustrated, deceived, and duped because they lack knowledge.

This book reveals what pilgrimage really is and how to go through it in God's way, and how to enjoy every step of the journey.

Leseprobe

Ayodele Ajileye

The Pilgrimage

The analysis of the great journey

I dedicate this book to every child of God that seeks to stay tuned with God in all wise; to those who will not settle at the entrance to throne room, but will approach the throne of grace.BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

The Pilgrimage

Copyright ©2018 by Ayodele Ajileye

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be copied or

reprinted for commercial gain or profit.

The use of short quotations or occasional page

copying for personal use is permitted and encouraged.

Permission will be granted on request.

All correspondence to

Ayodele Ajileye

[phone]

[email protected]

www.shakersandchangers.com

Unless otherwise stated, all scriptural references are from the New Living Translation.

Introduction

The word ‘Pilgrimage’ or ‘Pilgrim’ is not much of the New Testament term. However, Jesus revealed that there is a pilgrimage in the life that God calls us into. He revealed the concept of Pilgrimage when He mentioned that a road is narrow and another is wide, and He revealed that there is a journey to embark on when He called Himself the way. And truly, there is a journey to embark on in the life that we have been called to live in Christ Jesus.

For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. Hebrew 10:14

In a way, the exodus of the Israelite from Egypt and their journey through the wilderness depicts what is to be expected in the journey of everyone who has found the life of Christ, and has decided to allow God to lead him into all round holiness. God decided to move with the Israelites with the evidences of His presence which are the pillar of fire at night and pillar of cloud during the day. This is the same with every believer in Christ; He promises to journey all the way with everyone who allows Him.

There were series of camping here and there all through the journey of the Israelites, and there are reasons why God allowed them to camp in certain places. He explained to the people that they should camp whenever the evidences of His presence stopped moving and that they should move whenever they moved. Through the journey to the fullness of the life that we’ve got in God through Christ, there are places where we have to stop for certain reasons.

King David has a good way of explaining some of the reasons for stoppage and why we move when we move; he gave a good summary in Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams.

He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

King David made it clear that the shepherd and his sheep are on a journey. He also took out time to describe the trip. He explained that the shepherd makes his sheep stop to rest and have their strength renewed in certain places, he makes them pause to be honored in some other places, while he does not allow them to stop in some places.

Going through responses from one of my books titled This Salvation and observing believers as well as many questions I’ve had to answer concerning how to live the life of God that we have received, I realized some of the challenges believers encounter, especially when it comes to understanding the processes and following through with the journey to holiness. And having witnessed and studied many making a big mess of their yokes, tent, camping, camps and breaking camps, I’m really glad to write this book in order to help anyone who comes in contact with it and desires to journey right and enjoy all the way. So, don’t keep the information contained in this book to yourself; show it or teach it to others, recommend the book to someone, and present to someone as a gift. But first, get blessed and stay blessed through the information in it.

The Holy Pilgrimage

Whenever we hear the word Pilgrimage in religious settings, the first thing that comes to mind is a trip to the 'holy' land by the name of Jerusalem for Christians or Mecca for Muslims or other such places for other religions. Let me say this upfront: "I'm not really interested in religious discussions, so you know that I'm not about to spend time discussing trips to ‘holy’ lands.

True, pilgrimage is a journey, and whenever we hear the word “Journey” from a preacher or when it is read in a book, we tend to convert it straight away to mean the religious pilgrimage. Many have even term it to be what Jesus was talking about when he said that the road is narrow in Matthew 7:13-14. And because we have misinterpreted the journey, too many of us (children of God) go through the ‘journey’ wrongly. This journey has led to the frustration of many and they are still bringing many more people into frustration. God can’t get it wrong, He said His people are destroyed, frustrated, deceived, and duped because they lack knowledge.

What is the journey?

The journey is not some trip that you have to pack your luggage or backpack like many Christian movies have described it. And there is no actual road. What is available in this journey is a way, and it is not the way as we know it. The way is a person. The way is Jesus Christ (John 14:6). To embark on the journey is to live one’s life on the platform of grace.

For in him we live and move and exist. Acts 17:28

The journey is a process in which God wants to relate with His children, and have His person rub off on them. The journey is a period God uses to build a good father-child and friend-friend relationships with everyone that agrees for the journey. This is what He said about the journey in Matthew 11:28-30:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

The life that God calls us to live in Christ is a life that He wants to live with us. He is not the type of father that calls his children to do what he has not done. He does not just send people to do things, He walks and works with them to get those assignment done.

Like with the Israelites that He walked with them in form the pillar of fire by night and pillar of cloud by day and the ark of covenant as a concrete symbol of His presence, He wants to actively participate in the lives of His children through Christ.

The journey is a relationship that is aimed towards an end, an end for individuals that is a part of God’s big picture for the earth He created. So, he relates with every believer according to his unique assignment or purpose. The truth is that, purpose is the reason God created everybody, and He wants to stay yoked to every of His children through His spirit so that He can help get things done right.

The journey begins once a person accepts the love of God by accepting Christ. It begins when a person decides to surrender his burden of sin and religion, and start up a relationship with God. And in a relationship with God, like in every other good relationship, there are processes that make the best out of the relationship and the parties involved. So, let’s study those processes for better understanding.

The Yoke

It’s many times not funny the way people define words that they use so frequently without caring enough to look up the dictionary for their true meanings. This has lead so many people astray. If only we can look up the meaning of words, we will be surprise how little we understand those words we even know. I remember how the word “When” came staring at me when I was writing my book titled Life Management that I became overwhelm by all there is to the word that I could explore at that time. The same is with the work “yoke”.

To be candid, I hated the word “yoke” when I was a teenager. In fact, it was one of the reasons I walked away from God. The word ‘yoke’ was equivalent to burden, and being inquisitive, I wondered how God could tell people to drop something and then come back in the next verse to tell them to pick up the same in another word. That sounded ridiculous. Now that I know what yoke truly means, I can’t seem to get it out of my vocabulary because it is one of the sweetest words to come true in any of one’s relationships. Till date, I still try to explain to people that yoke is not a burden, and I try to explain what it really is, even to adults and aged as well as pastors. Can we quickly get the meaning of this sweet word?

Yoke is a wooden or rope or metallic frame used to harness two draft animals to whatever they are to pull. So, what Jesus was inviting people to take up is something that keeps them in relationship with Him. A yoke is a bond that keeps two people together. He said that people should let go of their burdens, their pain and worries, pasts and backgrounds, directionless and purposeless lives, and pick up a bond with Him to get something better done. See, a yoke with the Almighty does not seem like a burden in any way. I really wonder where we got the idea of a yoke being a burden from. And we even operate our other relationships with the mindset of a yoke being a burden.

Even the other part of the definition of a yoke that seems like a burden is not a burden at all. The truth remains that two people cannot walk together unless they have agreed (Amos 3:3). For two people to be yoked together, they must have agreed on what they want to achieve by their union, a purpose, and how to achieve it; they must have agreed on their destination and direction. There is no point yoking two animals if there is nothing to pull and a place to go. Horses are yoked to pull chariots and bulls are yoked to pull farm machineries. However, I see so many irresponsible yoking among people. To be responsible is to have an end in mind as you interact with your environment (neighbor). The responsibility part of being in a relationship with God is what we mostly take to be burdensome. And that is because we have a picture of a monstrous God in our hearts that has been painted by our traditions.

God cannot be irresponsible, and that is why He says that everybody that comes to Him should take up His yoke. If you are not busy with God, you’ll sure be busy with something else. This is the reason evil spirits can leave and person and then come back only to invite seven more evil spirits with itself into the same person. God is not the kind of friend that indulges people because He knows that an idle heart is a soil doomed to be used as footpath, rock depot, or to breed thorn.

“A yoke with God?! I can’t keep up, I’ll become a drag-along.”